Q Purpose This assignment is intended to help you learn to do the following: • Plan and conduct effective task group meetings. • Apply principles of effective group communication. • Apply effective group communication strategies. Overview Now that you have chosen a nonprofit "client," you will first make contact with a representative of the organization and explain what your team is trying to accomplish, asking for their permission to meet with them by phone or in person. You can offer to share the results of your class project with them at the end of the next 3 modules. You are first interviewing them about pain points that their organization might have. At this phase you are gathering information, discovering the scope and impact of the problem, and getting the whole picture. This preliminary research phase will help you lay out the problem your project will address and how you would address it (e.g., an event proposal, a workshop proposal, a communication proposal, etc.). This phase of the project will tie directly into next module’s Pick a Project assignment, in which you will describe your chosen project and how you arrived at your decision. Action Items 1. Conduct research to answer the following question: What are the needs of the organization? You must interview organization members. You may also survey individuals in your own network. 2. Conduct both primary and secondary research: a. Secondary research: What information is available on any identified problems? What solutions work well for other organizations? What forms of communication, marketing, fundraising, etc. seem to work well in their target area? The organization itself may have data on the issue. b. Primary research – expert opinion: Conduct 1 to 2 formal interviews with experts from the nonprofit. Formal interviews can be conducted in person, or by phone, email, or online meeting tool. Be sure to document complete information about when the interview was conducted. c. Primary research – opinion information: Solicit opinions from people. You might post a SurveyMonkey survey on your Facebook page and ask friends and family to participate. If appropriate, you might conduct research in professional settings, but be sure to get permission before involving coworkers. 3. In a response post of 150 words: a. Specify the broad area you would like to address and then create a preliminary actionable objective. b. Explain how you are going about identifying the needs of the organization. Who are you talking to? How did you identify them as a contact? c. Discuss how you determined which questions to ask. What do you need to know to determine the nature of the nonprofit’s problem? What information did you discover that clued you in to how the problem impacts the organization? d. Share any other information you discovered during your initial research that will inform your goal in working with the nonprofit and help you identify a specific project. 4. By the due date indicated, post an update on your project to this discussion board. Only one group member needs to post a summary, but all members need to participate in the discussion. Tips for discussion: If you have suggestions to help a team, offer them. Provide links to examples teams may find relevant. Grading Criteria Read the assignment rubric to understand how your work will be assessed.